Motor-vehicle.



H. E. HINs. MOTOR VEHICLE.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1913. 1,087,372, Patented Feb. 1'7, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H. E. HOINES.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1913,

, Patented Feb. 17,1914.

3 sHEBTs-SHBBT 2f H. E. HOINES.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

'APPLICATION FILED APR, 7', 1913y 1,0}8?',3?2 l Patented Feb. 1'?, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

HAI-VOB E. HOINS, GF LAKE PARK, MINNESOTA. v

M'OTGRf-VEHIGLE.

spannen@ of Leases estese. ,emanati-@qi Een., is wie,

applicants inea apen 1, i913. l serial No. 759,417.

To all Awhom it may concern Be it known that I, Hamon E. Homes, a citizen of Norway,

residing at Lake Parli,

.in the county of Becker and State of Minneg Sota, have inventedcertain new and useftul Improvements in Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a. specification.

`It has been proposed in the art of motor vehicles to provide a wheeled vehicle having 'runners associated therewith whereby the vehicle 'may be converted into a sleigh.

lThe present invention embodies certain improvements in the above type ofmahines and contemplates broadly the application ot runners to an automobile or similar wheeled yvehicle combined with propellers for operati orte Esed by its rear vwheels from the motor, and whereby the propulsion means for operating the machine when supported by the runners may also be operated from said motor. The invention involves certain novel mechanism for rendering the runners operative to support the machine instead of the wheels, together with peculiar mechanism for resiliently actingon the propellers which propel the machine when the runners are in use, as when the vehicle .must be driven over snow. y y,

The invention involves other special ifea- -tuies of construction and operation in rethe vehicle when the same is supby its runners, drive means being lation to the driving mechanism, runners and propulsion means, all of which will appear fully on reference to the following description and to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a fragmentary side vien'7 of an automobile equipped with the Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, the body of the vehicle removed. vFig. view showing moreclearly the means for supporting and moving the rear runners.

F 4 is a similar view showing,

whereby the vehicle may be propelledinvention.

3 is a side` however, i vthe front runner mechanism. Fig. 5 is a rear 'view of the machine as illustrated in v Eig. 2. l? ig. 6 is adetail fragmentary view showing more clearly the means for locking the resilient propeller supporting devices in the line 7-7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a detail Fig. 7i is a section on perspective view showing more clearly the positions of the actuating links tor the supportingT arms of `the lfront runners when said runners are lowered. Fig. 9 is a detail view of lthe means shown in Fig. 8, as adj justed when the ront runners are inactive. Fig. l0 -is a fragmentary view showing more clearly the supporting means tor each front runner. Fig.- ll is a view similar [to Fig. 1, illustrating the runners and snow vpropellers ininoperative position. Fig. 1Q is a detail perspective view bringing ont more clearly the manual means tor controlling the raising and lowering of the propellers. Figs. l3,14 and l5 are tragmentary .views showing the several positions assumed by the lock member in the operation of lowering each propeller to an operative position.

Throughout the following detail description and on the several figures of the drawings, similar parts are referredv to by like reference characters. A

s shown in Figs. l and 2, the invention is applied to a conventional iorni of automobile such as at presentin use, A denoting the body of the machine and B the chassis. The vehicle has the 'usual front and rear wheels Gand is propelled by an explosive engine or motor D. yThe motor shaft E leads from the motor D to the rear end of the machine (see Fig. Q), and carries at its rear end a combined bevel and spur gear l. The gear 1 isadapted to mesh with dinerential gearing Q on the rear axle of the vehicle, said gear l being splined upon and therefore yshiftable longitudinally of the shaft E by suitable mechanism incompletely shown at 3. When the gears l, and 2 are operatively engaged, the machine will be used as an ordinary motor propelled vehicle, power beingy transmitted from the motor D to the rear driving wheels C. I

Should the 'operat'ng conditions orthe vehicle be such that it is desired to convert the same vinto a sleigh, as when the ground is covered with snow, it is contemplated to use the front and rear runners 4 and 5, respectively. The rontrunneis 4 are supported by axle ot the vehicle, each runner being attached to said iframe by a pair of toggle links 7, the upper member of each link 7 having a lateral stop 8I to limit movement of the parts of the link in one direction. A lever 9 is pivotally mounted at each end ot' a shaft l0 beneath the frame ,6, and said lever .is connected by rods 'l1 with the toggle lin'lrs 7, the outer ends of the rods 11 constia frame 6, carried by the frontl iio tilting thepivotal connections between 'the` members of each link.. It will be apparent that by turning the shaft 10, the rods 11 will be moved so as to cause the members of the links 7 j to be, alined or to break joint, a lowering and raising movement being thus irn-A parted to the runners 4 supported by said links. l

` For the purpose of turning the shaft 10, a .pulley 12 is secured to said shaft and a belt 13 passes around said pulley and extends rearwardly to a. pulley 14 on a stub shaft l5 projecting from one sideof the chassis B. There are two of the shafts 15 on the chassis B, one only, however, carrying dthe pulley 14, but both being supplied with gears 16. The gears 1-6 are adapted to be rotated by pinions 17 on a shaft 18 mounted transversely of the chassis B, said shaft l8having a crank-handle 19 for turning purposes. The gears 16 are provided with pinions on their inner sides, rigid therewith Aand engaging racksl 20, the lower ends of which are attached to the rear ruuners 5. The runners 5 have at their front and4 rear ends vertical ide members 2l which pass through suita le guide brackets 22 on the chassis B, springs 23 surrounding the uide members 21 at their upper ends and caring againstv the upper portions of the brackets 22 in such a way as to normally tend to raise the runners 5.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that when it is desired to lower the runners 4 and 5 from their inoperative positions, as shown in Fig. 1l, to their active positions, as sho n in Fig. 1, it is only necessary for the operator to turn the handle 19, therebyY rotating the shafts 18 4and 10, each of which is operatively connected with the members 2O and 7, respectively, in the manner above described.

In view of the fact that when the runners 4 and 5 are lowered, the vehicle is supported thereon and the wheels C elevated so that the machine cannot be propelled by the rearmost of said wheels, it is obvious that other propulsion means must be employed when driving the vehicle while employed as a sleigh or sled. The latter means consists, preferably, of two' propellers 24 of the screw type, each propeller consisting of a spiral blade and a shaft 25 mounted in suitable bearings in the inner ends of arms 26, a

air ofwhich is used for each propeller, said arms being pivoted at their outer ends upon brackets 27 supported on the chassis B. Heavy leaf jpri 2S eng over ends of the shaft 25 of each pro "t springs being carried b v' brackets 27. therefore tending to resiliently hold the propellers in engagement with the snow over which the machine travels 'when used as a sleigh. To cause the springs to act re siliently on the shafts 2:3, it is contmnpiated to provide a peculiar lock` and to raise the propellers when not in use suitable means are provided, the latter being also common t'o the lock means just mentioned. ln otherV words, as shown in Fig. 12, shafts 29 and 30 are mounted in suitable bearings on the' chassis B above the opposite ends of the propeller shafts 25. The shaft 30 has a` central arm 31 projecting downwardly and connected by a rod 32 with .a hand lever 33. The shaft 29 has a central arm '34 connected by a rod 35 with said lever 33.. Each of the shafts 29 and 30 has at each end an upwardly projecting arm 36 connected by a chain 87 with the pivoted arm 26 just beneath.; also a downwardly projecting arm 38 connected by a rod 39 'with a lock member 40 which is pivo'ted to the adjacent bracket 27. The lock member 40 is quite clearly illustrated in Figs. Gand 7. It is of U-form and its transverse portion is adapted to engage the upper side of the adjacent spring 28 near the connection of the latter with the bracket 27. A coiled spring 41 is connected with one arm of the lock member l40 and the parts just described operate as follows: Assuming" that the runners have been lowered into their proper positions to render the propellers 24 operative, the lever 88 is manually moved rearward. This action causes movement of the lever to be transmitted to the shafts 29 and 30 and the arms 36 of each shaft are lowered with their chains or connections 37, thus permitting thepropeller carrying arms 26 to d ro'p suiiciently to permit the propellers to engage with the snow. Simultaneously withthe downward movement of the arms 36 of each shaft last mentioned, the springs 41 connected with the lock membersv 40 pull said lock members from the positions in which they are-shown in Fig. 13 to the positions shown in Fig. 14, and the continued movement of the shafts .29 and 30 causes the arms 38 to pull upward on the long arm of each lock member 40 so that the transverse portion of the latter positively engages the upper side of the spring 2S and places this spring under the required ten sion to cause the propeller with which it ccoperates to be resiliently held in engagement with the snow or surface. The last position assumed by the lock members under the positive action of the arms 38, is illustrated in 15. Of course, when the propellers are not to be used, they may be raised readily by wishing the lever forward. where 1' upon the arras 26 will be elevated and the Enrtr members il restored to their j-Mvons. shown in ii'ig lli. Winni, in'm'exA the prepellers are lowered for active use. in the manner described, the operatrn willi shift the' gear 1 on the engine shaft@ forward until said gear eng .les with n gear 42 cai1` ried by a shaft 42%. Under these conditions, the gears 1 and are disengaged So that the motor D is no longer connected with the rear driving axles of the vehicle but is now connected with the shaft 43. On the shaft 43 is also a gear 44 which meshes with a gear 45, the two gears 44 and 45 beingr provided with pulleys 46 connected by belts 47 to pulleys 48 mounted at the lower ends of the brackets 27. The pulleys 48 are in turn connected to pulleys 49 on the rear ends of the propeller shafts 25.

With the connections as lastset forth, the operation of the motor D will transmit power to the shaft 43 andthe gearing between the shaft 43 and propeller shafts 25 will cause the propellers 24 to be driven at any desired speed under the control of the operator of the machine. The motor D is therefore adapted to be interchangeably connected with the prop'ellers 24 or with :the rear drive wheels C of the Vehicle, as ref quired under diEerent conditions of service,

namely, when the 'vehicle is used as a sleigh,

or ordinary automobile, respectively.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In combination, a vehicle comprising driving wheels normally inoperative, runners for said vehicle, means for throwing the runners into operative positions and simultaneously rendering the driving wheels inoperative, propellers adapted for use when the runners are employed to support th'e vehicle, a motor, and means for interchangeably connecting the motor with the driving wheels and propellers comprising a motor shaft, propeller shafts, and gearing for connecting the motor shaft with the driving wheels or with the propeller shafts.

2. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination of a body, runners for supporting said body, propulsion 'means comprising propellers, arms supporting said propellers, an operating device for raising and lowering the arms of the propellers to impart corremeans coacting with the Propellers and con- 'trolled by said operating device.

3. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination of a body runners for supporting said body, propellers for driving the 5o body, means for raising andlowering the' propellers, and lock means for cooperation with the propellers when the same are in their lowered operative position and controlled by the means for raising and lowering the propellers.

4. In a ivehicle of the class described, the combination of a body, runners for supporting said body, propellers, means for raising and lowering the propellers, springs coacting with the propellers to resiliently hold the same in their operative positions, lool; means coacting with the springs, and means intermediate said springs and the lock means and the propeller raising and lowering means, whereby the former are controlled by the last mentioned means.A

5. In a vehicle of the class described, the combination of a body, runners for supporting said body, brackets depending from the body, arms pivoted to said brackets, a propeller mounted on said arms, sprin'g means carried by the brackets and coperating with the propeller, a shaft, a connection between said shaft and -one of the arms, a

lock member coacting with the spring means and also connected with said shaft, f and means for operating the Shaft to lower the arms with the propeller carriedthereby, and

to simultaneously cause cooperative action between the lock member and 'the spring means aforesaid.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

" HALVOR E. HOINES.

IVitnesses:

P. R. JAconsoN, J. O. LoRENTzEN. 

